Monday, May 29, 2017

Monday Morning Links

Even with lower overall tax burdens, many Americans bear much heavier
non-tax burdens than their Canadian counterparts. These costs can be so
large as to swamp any tax-rate differentials between the countries.
Private health insurance in the U.S. can cost a family US$15,000 or more
per year. Inferior public schools in parts of the U.S. can impel
families who can afford it to expend large sums on private schooling.

When provided by U.S. employers, health insurance constitutes a heavy
cost burden to business that their Canadian counterparts don’t bear.
Those costs are covered by public health care in B.C., which accounts
for much of our higher tax rates, but overall doesn’t detract from our
tax competitiveness.

The authors further ignore the impact of B.C.’s astronomical housing
costs on the health of the economy. B.C. businesses must offer higher
pay to attract and retain employees or limit their hiring and expansion.
Both the B.C. Greens and NDP have taxation-based proposals to reduce
home prices — aimed at foreign and speculative buyers — which would
assist local business hiring while augmenting public funds.

In short, “tax competitiveness” is a catchphrase with limited meaning
unless one delves more deeply. Warnings that NDP and Green tax
initiatives would endanger the B.C. economy are alarmism. Rather, the
added revenues could support public programs shortchanged for years by
the provincial government’s dogged quest to be “tax-competitive.”

- Meanwhile, Wendy Bach examines the difference between the lucrative and effort-free tax giveaways available for the wealthy in the U.S., and the miserly and punitive benefit system for people who actually need public assistance.

- Josh Keefe and David Sirota discuss the obvious corporatist bent of Donald Trump's infrastructure scheme - including his plan to hand free money to the corporations taking over what's already been built with public funds. And Bill Curry reports on the obvious vulnerability of the Libs' planned infrastructure bank to political interference.

- Finally, Michael Harris writes that the Cons' thoroughly uninspiring leadership race has left the door wide open for the NDP to make the most compelling offer of change for the better in the next federal election campaign.